Marketplace Tech

How rural America is turning into a digital desert

December 06, 2018

For a time it seemed like tech might free us from the bonds of geography. In theory, fast internet meant new economic opportunity in any city. And telecommuting and video conferencing meant we could work from anywhere. But in reality, the geographic digital divide is as wide, and in fact even wider than it ever was. Recently Amazon decided its new headquarters could only go in big cities with a big tech workforce. That just solidified the fact that technology and the digital economy are less evenly distributed than ever. Molly Wood talks with Mark Muro, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and lead author of the 2017 report "Digitalization and the American Workforce."
Today's show is sponsored by Colgate University.